Hong Kong: Police on Sunday arrested more than 200 protesters during anti-government demonstrations in the city's Mong Kok area, media reports said.
Authorities didn't release a tally but said that in midnight they were conducting dispersal and arrest operations after giving repeated warnings.
Read also: Hong Kong lawmakers ejected in scuffles at legislature
Officials added that protesters chanted slogans and built barriers to block roads in the city's Mong Kok district, and set fires on some streets.
A pro-democracy movement that paralysed Hong Kong for months last year has shown signs of reviving in recent weeks as the coronavirus threat eases. The government recently decided to allow public gatherings of eight people, up from four previously.
Read also: Big crowd gathers in Hong Kong for 1st protest rally of 2020
The nighttime street action followed multiple protests at shopping malls earlier in the day. Protesters are demanding full democracy in the semi-autonomous Chinese city and an investigation into alleged police brutality in suppressing the demonstrations.
The protests were sparked by a now-abandoned extradition bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial. Beijing's judicial system is murkier than Hong Kong's and does not guarantee the same rights to the accused.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched through Hong Kong last year in repeated demonstrations that often ended in pitched battles, with hardcore protesters throwing gasoline bombs and police using tear gas and firing nonlethal but still powerful projectiles.
AP
